“Sir, why did you choose this Black man?” his wife, Reed Hastings, asked curiously.
“Because his answer satisfied me the most.”
“Be honest!”
“It’s because he offered more!” Reed Hastings shrugged. “$150 million for our 40% stake. Do you think I’d refuse his money just because he’s Black?”
“Of course, we wouldn’t do something so foolish!” his wife said, her mood brightening. Although Black people were somewhat unpleasant, they were quite endearing when they brought an extra $60 million.
In Huang He’s plan, Little Swift was to be discarded after a single use, merely a tool to satisfy procedural requirements. However, the subsequent developments caught Huang He somewhat off guard.
Due to the time required for the stock transfer, Huang He once again postponed his return home by a week, staying in California to handle the relevant procedures. It was then that he witnessed one of the most surreal scenes of his life.
The next day, the largest Black newspaper in California, the *California Pioneer*, published a reporter's article that hailed Little Swift as the pride of all Black people in California.
For instance, it stated that Little Swift grew up in a poor family with three younger sisters and two younger brothers. His father died early from drug abuse, and his mother struggled to raise the children solely through her work as a domestic helper.
Up to this point, all the reports were true. However, what followed was utterly preposterous.
The article claimed that Little Swift was an outstanding student from childhood, who later strayed from the right path due to external factors. But then, he saved the chairman of the Western Mustang Company, becoming his savior.
Later, to repay this life-saving debt, the chairman handed over the management of Western Mustang Company to him. Little Swift, with his astonishing and keen financial acumen, successfully executed several deals, transforming a debt of several million dollars into tens of millions within just two years.
He then outshone dozens of white investors at a Netflix investment dinner, successfully securing investment in Netflix. This caught the eye of Reed Hastings, who, despite the investment amount being lower than others, still chose to accept Little Swift’s investment.
Reed Hastings believed Little Swift to be an exceptionally capable manager, worth $100 million on his own, and thus insisted on giving this investment opportunity to the brilliant 18-year-old Black man.
To any rational person, this article was utterly preposterous and absurd. Setting aside the fact that a chairman would use an investment company to repay a life-saving debt rather than simply gifting all the company’s money to the benefactor, it made no sense.
At least that money could be spent, while an investment company would just be thrown away pointlessly.
As for the story of transforming tens of millions of dollars from a few hundred thousand, it was even more fantastical. If this Black man had truly achieved that, then almost all investment firms on Wall Street would be clamoring to give him money, without any disdain for his race, as long as he could make money.
And so, despite seeming like utter nonsense to any normal person, this report spread like wildfire through the Black community in California with unimaginable speed. All Black people were cheering and celebrating the emergence of a Black financial genius.
It is important to mention a background here: there had never been a Black financier in America.
For over a hundred years since their emancipation, Black Americans had been pursuing their own sense of racial pride.
Later, Black people achieved achievements surpassing white people in music and sports, and also found their place in film and politics.
However, in the financial sector, not a single prominent financier had emerged from the Black community. Therefore, many white people had openly stated that Black people had inherent intellectual deficiencies and were incapable of understanding and executing tasks requiring high intelligence and skill, such as financial investment. They believed that no financier could emerge from the Black community.
This made many Black people furious, yet it was a factual reality; no respectable financier had ever emerged from the Black community. Then, Little Swift appeared at precisely the right moment.
He now possessed all the ideal qualifications to become an all-Black idol.
Firstly, the identity of the president of a financial investment company and an investment of tens of millions cemented Little Swift’s position as a professional financial manager.
Secondly, Little Swift was only 18 years old – a clear child prodigy.
And then there was his family background: a composition of three sisters and two brothers, a father who abused drugs, a mother who single-handedly raised the entire family, and a period in his youth where he made a wrong turn, accidentally getting involved with gangs. These were all extremely standard templates for Black youth; almost every Black person could see a shadow of their own youth in Little Swift.
Now, this young self had a turnaround, successfully breaking free from a difficult life, and instead becoming a professional investment manager through his own efforts and kindness. This transformation was comparable to a top-tier wish-fulfillment novel, leaving almost every Black person who read the article ecstatic.
Thus, it was only natural that Little Swift’s fame soared. Within two days, he became the idol of all Black people in California. When Little Swift went out, hundreds of Black people would want to shake his hand and call him their pride.
Then, more and more related media outlets interviewed him, including many major media organizations that reported on Little Swift.
Initially, these major media outlets, controlled by white people, were focused on exposing Little Swift’s flaws. For example, Little Swift’s past involvement with gangs, or that Western Mustang Investment Company was originally a gang property, and Little Swift had only served as president for less than a month, among other things.
These media outlets originally thought they could completely tarnish Little Swift’s reputation. But no one expected that these articles would not only fail to achieve their desired effect but would also lead to large numbers of Black people holding fierce protests in front of their news agencies.
Because, in the eyes of these Black people, Little Swift’s flaws were not flaws at all.
First, Little Swift’s past involvement with gangs was indeed a flaw, but what Black person hadn’t been involved with gangs as a child? Didn’t everyone go through that? Therefore, these were not considered flaws, but rather a bridge that brought Little Swift closer to ordinary Black people.
As for the accusations of inaccurate reporting or revealing the truth about Western Mustang Company, Black people dismissed them all as fake news. After all, fake news was a usual tactic employed by white media to smear the entire Black community; they had long been disgusted by such practices.
You say it’s fake news, but Western Mustang Company did indeed start with millions in debt, and now they have invested tens of millions of real money into a company. This money and these figures are concrete and have been confirmed by relevant authorities. Why do you claim it’s fake? I think this news itself is fake.
Many, all the major media outlets discovered that they tried to explain the truth to the Black community, but the people there simply didn’t want to listen to such truths. They only wanted to know the truths they desired, and exposé articles and reports had no market.
Conversely, when the *California Weekly*, a major media outlet controlled by white people, tentatively published an article praising Little Swift and slightly hyping him up, the newspaper’s sales surged tenfold. Large numbers of Black people flooded in to buy these newspapers and excitedly flaunted to the surrounding white people that their community had produced a financial genius.
Then, this newspaper was surprised to find it had gained a large number of loyal Black readers and immediately changed its previous tone, starting to analyze, from a neutral and rational perspective, that Little Swift was indeed a financial genius.
Tsk, tsk, the wealth code had been successfully found.
Following this, many major media outlets followed suit. Even if they didn’t shamelessly follow in praising Little Swift, they at least stopped attacking his perceived flaws. Thus, Little Swift’s fame grew, not only within California but also radiating towards the Black communities across America.
“Brother-in-law, are these Americans all stupid? Have they been hit with an intelligence-reducing halo? How can they not see the glaring loopholes in these reports?” Leng Zhiruo asked in surprise.
“Uh… I guess I’d call it the Black Panther effect!” Huang He pondered for a moment and then said.
“The Black Panther effect? What does that mean?” Leng Zhiruo asked, puzzled.
“It refers to when Marvel released the superhero Black Panther and its corresponding comics!” Huang He chuckled. “Because the Black Panther, a purely Black superhero character, appeared, Marvel’s sales across America nearly doubled, and it gained a large number of Black readers. This effect was called the Black Panther effect!”
Well, this explanation was something Huang He made up on the spot. The true Black Panther effect actually referred to what happened years later when the Marvel movie *Black Panther* was released.
This movie, from any angle, was mediocre, even somewhat extremely poor. Even Douban, which excessively favors Westerners, only gave it a 6.5, while on American film websites, its rating was as high as 9 points or more.
Not only that, but the crucial point was its astonishing box office of $1.35 billion, making it the second most terrifying film in the entire Marvel series, second only to *The Avengers*.
The effect of this movie’s release was called the Black Panther effect, and it also made all Hollywood film companies realize that capturing the Black audience meant capturing movie box office revenue.
The direct consequence was Disney following suit; the protagonist of *The Little Mermaid* became a Black mermaid.
Now, this Black Panther effect was happening to Little Swift as well.